Automatic loud or soft pedal mechanism for self-playing musical instruments.



Patented Apr. -2, I90L E. K LABER. AUTOMATIC LOUD OR SOFT PEDAL MECHANISM FOB SELF PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

(Application led Mar. 6, 1900.)

(No Model.)

{lNiTnn STATES Parenti @errent EMILE KLABER, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATiC LOUD OR SOFT PEDAL MECHANISM FOR SELF-PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS,

SPECIFCATON formingpart of Letters Patent No. 671,216, dated April 2, 190].

Application filed March 6, 1900. Serial 'Ne '7.508. (No modem To (r/Z Y1J/tom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMILE KLABER, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in the borough of Manhattan, in the city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Loud or Soft Pedal Mechanism for Self-Playing Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specication.

One of the objections to self-playing pianos has been the lack of modulation in tone or the necessity of special manipulation in order to produce such modulation as is required to give expression to the music and relieve it of monotonous and mechanical effect. While it is true that musical compositions usually have signs for modulation of tone provided by the composer, it is also true that pleasing` and satisfactory results can be produced by such systematic modulation or production of forte, pianissimo, sustained, or staccato effects in regular or irregular alternation as can be produced by mechanical means.

To this end my invention consists in the provision, in a self-playing musical instrument, ofthe mechanism hereinafter described and claimed constituting an automatic appliance for producing modulation in strength or continuance of tone at predetermined regular or irregular intervals by mechanical means independent of the playing` mechanism.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side view of a mechanical appliance adapted for the production of alternately loud and soft tones in a self-playing piano. Eig. 2 is a front view of the same.

24 may represent the motor-drum of a mechanically-operated piano, 23 the shaft thereof, and 25 the driving mechanism, which may be of any usual or suitable construction.

29 represents two of the friction-toes, of which there is one for each note in the instrument, for communicating movement to the jack-rods 30 when the respective toes are dropped into contact with the motor-drum by the passage of apertures in the tune-sheet in a customary and Well-known manner On the driving-shaft l0 is keyed a pinion 3l, gearing with a cog-wheel 32, which carries any desirable number of cams, as 33 34, of which I have shown, for illustration, two,

located on opposite sides of the cog-wheel 33. These cams have diversely arranged or located prominences, as shown in Eig. 2 and in full and dotted li nes in Fig. l. The peripheries form arcs concentric with the axis of rotation of the said cams andare adapted to engage, respectively, with rollers 35 36, journaled on the ends of arms 37 3S,having attached to them cords 39 40, which are connected, respectively, to the riser-bars 4l 42,which through vertical movement operate the tone-modulating devices of the piano in a customary manner, the vertical riser-bar 4l being, for example, employed to liftthe dampers off the strings to produce forte effect or sustained tones and the bar 42 being employed to advance the back restbar of the hammers, so as to advance them in proximity to the strings to shorten their stroke, and thus produce a piano effect in a customary manner. lt will now be understood that by the continuous rotation of the connected cams 34, bringing the prominent faces of said cams into engagement with the rollers 35 3G alternately, the desired mod ulation will be effected by alternately lifting the dampers and advancing the back rest-bar of the hammers, so as to produce forte and piano effects alternately, and by varying thc length of the prominences on the respective cams or changing their position in any manner these effects may be varied as desired. When the prominences of the cams are not in engagement with the respective rollers 35 36, or either of them, the loud and soft pedal connections are left uncontrolled and may be operated by the performer at will either when playing by hand or by the mechanical playing attachments 24 29 and their accessories.

A simple device for instantly disconnecting the automatic loud and soft pedal mechanism is shown in the drawings. The pullcords 39 40 are carried over pulleys 4l 42, mounted in one end of a lever 43, which is fulcrum'ed at 44 in such position that the end cariwing the pulleys 4l 42 will tend to descend by gravity. ln order to support the lever in elevated position and retain the mechanism above described in operative position, a bell-crank lever 45 is provided, the free end of which when turned to the position shown in full lines in Fig. l bears down on the shorter end of the lever 43, so as to raise its long end,

IOO

2 on which the pulleys ill l2, me mounted, 21ml produce the neeewmry tension 'of elle `pulll; SE) i .MQ "G l. En a meelmneallystrumeut, the combinan '-27 for operating the lol mism of :1 plm o in @Het el pullcori s Si), el-O eoimeezei l 33 operating en Smil pull-eml` p real strength ef tone ai* Cleeereefl.

i3. rEhe eembmrleu ef fle levil :mul will pedal bars all, el?, pull-Cercle 397 4 9 levers 2375 3S, and cams SEL 34. operating on seid levers m prmluee lend mil :sel'b tenes :LS explained. E. 'fue een'xl-llnzxlerl el' Che'riser-lmne lil 1927 :null-Corde ul ,lll, leverf; 37, 3S, mms Si), Sil

meting); ou s `l lefe 's auml :L variable leueeu forll rml illus llrev.' the autenmlyie pedal mechanism in zml our el action :Lt will.

in a mee zul'ezrlly-epe lzLzefl musical inl l Erneut, the eembimaleu with the lueneulealulaztng connections, of emns mul inmuemifllnfg (levieee moved thereby arbitrzrly,

l r l l l l l i 1 l predetermined periods te produce Alterunlioue in Volume er Continuity of Loue, sul)- etzmunlly as Sel; ferllh.

'E EIL/HEER. ,Vlwnesses:

imei@ CAREY,

ne J EEN-D LiwroN. 

